I thought I was prepared. But nothing can prepare you for the roller coaster of motherhood. After planning a home birth and being forced into a C-section because my son was a footling breech... I suffered intense Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the birth. I also suffered Postpartum Depression because I had difficult 'recognizing' my old self in my new role as mom. This blog is my attempt at putting my motherhood journey into words.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

My warning signs of PPD

Here are some of the signs that indicated a high likelihood that I would experience PPD:

·My pregnancy was earlier than planned (and not entirely wanted at that point in time), and my son was born 5 months after my wedding.

·I had a traumatic birth – a long C-section recovery, birth was completely opposite the homebirth we’d originally planned.My trusted midwife dumped me at the end of pregnancy and wouldn’t deliver my son.

·Breastfeeding was extremely painful and challenging for the first few weeks, and it took 2 months before my nipples didn’t hurt anymore.

·We moved to a new house and new town (where I knew no one and had no social connections) 3 months after the birth.

·We didn’t have daycare or a babysitter lined up, so I had to take care of Evan while trying to run my business.